Scott, McGarvey Introduce Legislation to Improve Black Lung Benefits Program

Scott, McGarvey Introduce Legislation to Improve Black Lung Benefits Program

WASHINGTON - Today, Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA-03), House Committee on Education and Workforce, and Representative Morgan McGarvey (D-KY-03), reintroduced the Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act, legislation that would help miners who have suffered from black lung disease access the workers' compensation and benefits they are entitled to receive under the federal Black Lung Benefits Program. This legislation significantly reduces barriers, such as complex claims processes and lack of legal representation, that prevent miners and their survivors from accessing benefits.

"Decades ago, Congress established the Black Lung Benefits Act to provide monthly compensation and medical coverage for coal miners who develop black lung disease and are totally disabled. Unfortunately, the Government Accountability Office found that miners often lack the necessary medical and legal resources to develop evidence to prove their claims," said Ranking Scott. "The Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act helps miners and their survivors access legal representation, ensures benefits are not eroded due to inflation, reduces the time for processing claims, and protects taxpayers from taking a hit when a self-insured coal company goes bankrupt and cannot pay black lung claims."

"After paying for this country's last energy revolution with their own health and safety, miners shouldn't have to endure a costly, drawn-out legal process to prove they've earned their benefits," said McGarvey. "Our bill would peg these benefits to inflation and make them easier to access, rather than letting these miners who have sacrificed so much be left further and further behind. I'm grateful for Senators Kaine and Fetterman and Ranking Member Scott's continued dedication to strengthen black lung benefits, get miners the care they need, and uphold the dignity of financial security that they deserve."

Many miners have developed coal workers' pneumoconiosis-commonly referred to as "black lung"-a debilitating and deadly disease caused by the long-term inhalation of coal dust in underground and surface coal mines. In response, Congress passed the Black Lung Benefits Act in 1976 to provide monthly compensation and medical coverage for coal miners who develop black lung disease and are disabled. The Black Lung Benefits Improvement Actmakes necessary updates to ensure Congress is fulfilling its commitment to the nation's coal miners by:

1. Automatically adjusting coal miners' benefits for inflation,
2. Helping miners and their survivors secure legal representation by increasing the number of attorneys willing to take on black lung claims,
3. Expanding the assistance provided by black lung clinics,
4. Ensuring miners get assistance from the Department of Labor (DOL) in rebutting medical evidence,
5. Improving access to CT scans to clarify medical eligibility,
6. Requiring the DOL to address potential conflicts of interest with physicians providing medical exams,
7. Accelerating the DOL's access to employment and earnings verification for miners from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS),
8. Establishing stringent criteria for mine operators that seek to self-insure,
9. Increasing civil penalties for mine operators that fail to secure benefits, and
10. Expanding the parties that the DOL can hold liable when an operator fails to secure benefits.

The legislation has been endorsed by Appalachia Voices, Appalachian Citizens' Law Center, the BlueGreen Alliance, the Sierra Club, and the United Mine Workers of America.

To read the bill text for the Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act, click here.

To read the fact sheet on the Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act, click here.

To read the section-by-section on the Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act, click here.

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